Time Pluto 3200+

Any PC worth more than a two-week all-inclusive holiday in the Bahamas is sure to raise a few eyebrows. The Time Pluto 3200+ is such a machine that justifies its high price tag with a collection of the freshest hardware money can buy.

For starters, it includes AMD's current fastest processor, the Athlon XP3200+, which has a clock speed of 2.2GHz. This allows the Pluto to crunch data very quickly. Combined with 512Mb of fast memory, the Pluto achieved a good score in our application tests.

Hard disk capacity is a serious consideration for today's internet and multimedia-driven user and they don't come bigger than the 250Gb model housed inside the Pluto. This is more than enough for most and plenty for those who fancy video editing or building a digital music library.

Pushing the price up further is the 128Mb nVidia GeForce FX 5900 graphics card. Bought separately, it would cost around £350 - a serious investment for serious gamers. However, its worth is warranted, handling graphics-hungry 3D games comfortably, even at high-screen resolutions.

Thankfully, the supplied LG 19in flatscreen CRT monitor also supports high resolutions - up to 2048 x 1536. Although it consumes a lot of desk space, it looks great and has a clear, crisp picture, both in Windows applications and games.

The monitor also houses four USB ports, adding to the three USB 2 ports housed in the PC's case. Although this increases the number of overall USB ports on the system, it does mean you have to sacrifice one of the three ports on the PC case and climb round the back of the monitor to plug any peripherals in. This might not be necessary as connectivity on the front of the PC is excellent with a memory card reader and further USB 2 port.

Both DVD and DVD-RW drives are fitted, allowing for disc copying and general CD/DVD recording. To help users get the most out of the DVD-RW drive, a copy of Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD is included.

Audio comes in the form of on-board 5.1 sound, with two digital-out sockets and a FireWire port.

A set of Videologic ZXR-500 surround-sound speakers are thrown in and if you fancy watching DVD movies on your TV, the TV-out port on the graphics card will allow you to do so.

The only downside to this PC is the large tower case. Long gone are the space-age PC-cases that Leonard Nimoy used to rave about, instead we're back to the bland, beige, box design. You'll even need a screwdriver to remove the side panel. However, the big case is roomy inside. All the cables are neatly tied back out of the way, making access to the free 5.25in bay a doddle. There's also a free internal 3.5in bay for another hard disk but it's unlikely you'll need it, thanks to the 250Gb model already in place. Three free PCI slots sit alongside the graphics card and modem.

The software bundle consists of Star Office, GSP Power Publisher, two educational titles and a selection of kids' activity programs. Windows XP makes up the operating system and a wireless keyboard and mouse reduce the amount of cables littering the desk. Impressive.

Contact: Time Computers 0870 830 3116
www.timecomputers.com